Improvement in treadles



itated statte e parte can,

Letters Patent No. 110,-533;'date'd December 27, 1870.

IMP'RovEME-N'r iN TREADLES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ARTHUR M. ALLEN, of the city, county, and State'of New York, .have invented a new and useful Improvement in Converting Motion; and I do hereby declare' .the following to be a full, clear,y and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the-artto make and use the same, reference being'had to the accompanying drawingtbrmiug part of this specification, in which drawingv y l ,Figure l represents-a sectional, pian, or top view of this invention.

Figure 2 is afront View; and

`Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same.

Similar letters indicatecorresponding parts This invention relates to' a device for converting rcciprocating alternating motion into continuous rotary motion, which consists principally of a vibrating barconnected on cach side of its fulermn to a pedal or handle, in combination with a crank, in such a man.

vnei-that, by applying the feet or hands to the pedals or handles, and imparting to them a lribratin'g motion, the'bar is caused to oscillate `on its fulcrum, anda continuous revolving motion is thereby given to the.

,bearing on a Wheel connected to said crank.

In the drawinglhe letter A designates a frame, which forms thc bearings for the crank-shaft a.

In the bottom part of said fraaie is a traverse, b, from which rises a. pin, c, forming the fnl'crum fora bar, d, and this bar connects ou each side of its fnlcrum with a pedal, c, and said pedals being either directly connected to the vibrating-bar, as shown inthe drawing, or attached to swinging levers, which connect with the Vibrating-bar by suitable joints or rods.

lt' the vibrating bar is to be operated by the hands, the pedals are to fue' replaced by suitable handles.

Une end oi' the vibrating-bar d connects by a rod,f, with the crank-pin g, and by placing the l'cct on the pedals, and imparting tu the feet an alternating pushing motion, (the knees forming tliei`ulci'u1ns)a vibrating motion is imparted `to the bai d, aml the crankshalt receives a continuous-revolving motion.

Instead ol' connecting the vibrating-bar d directly to the crank-pin, it may be connected to one end or center of a'n intermediate lever, the other end or center of which connects .with the crank-pin. Or, if av double crankshaft is used, either end of thevibratingbar may be made to, connect with one of the c anks; but in practice I prefer the arrangementv of a single crank-pin with the pedals alternating toward and from the operator. l l

rlhe motion of the feet r'required to operate my treadle is similar to that of the feet in walking, the feet being caused to'swing backward and forward from the knees, so that the operation of the treadle requires very little .excl-tion, and is much less atigniug than that of' an ordinary trcadle, where the motion of the feet takes place at the ankles alone.

A similar effect may also be produced by placing the pedals on slides, and connecting them to each other by cords, so that they have au alternating vmotion tcward and from the operator, and that, by connecting 'one of the pedals with the crank, a revolving motion4 is imparted to the latter. l

The vibrating-bar might also be divided in two, each halt being made to 'swing on a pivot in one end, and carrying a pedal or handle on its opposite end, and the two-pedals or handles would inthis case be couvnected by an endless cord or otherwise, so as vto compel them to alternate.

Frontthis description it will lie-noticed that my invention is capable of' being moditi'ed in various ways, and'I do not wish to coutiue myself` to the precise arrangement shown in the drawing.

From this dra-wimr it will be seen that theV connecting-rod f is double-jointed at each end, so as to be able to accommodate itseltl to the motions of the bar and ofthe crank. By placing the wheel parallel to or in the plane of vibration ofthe bar (l, a'rod with simple joints may bc used.

W ith the crank-shalt I have combined a knee-bar, h, which connects by a cord or rod with a lever, Z,.car rying a dog, if, which bears againstawheel, k, mounted ou the crank-shalt. v

The lever-.I swings loosely on` the crank-shaft, and the dog bears .loosely against the wheel, so that, by raising the lever up viu the direction ot' the arrow marked near it in fig. 3, the wheel is turned in the right direction, and at the same time the dog-p1e\-'ents the wheel heilig turned'iu the wrong direction.

The'mot-ion ot' the lever Z is ell'ected by pressing with the knee against. the knee-bar, and by these means the operator is enabled to start the crank-shattand to thro the same oli" its dead centers without be ing compelled to reach down with the hands.

It is obvious that the connect-ion between the kuecbar anni the dog can be effected in many dierent ways, :mil I do Inot wish to confine myself to the preoise arrangementshown in the drawing.

X'Vhnt I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let-` ters Patent, isl ll. The vibrating` bm' d, connected' on each side of its fuh'rnm to a? pedal; in combination with a crunk, to whivh a, revolving motion is to be imparted, substantially as described.

2. The ceutnilly-'pivoted pedals, having an alternntng motion toward and from the operator, in combination with n. single crank, substantially as herein set fort-h. Y

3. The knee-bar h,.in combination with i a, dog aci:- ng on the wheuhiln' tlie pnrpnseof starting thesnme` in the right direction, Substantinllv as described.

' ARTHUR. M. ALLEN. Tit-misses W. HUFF, E. F. KASTENHUBER. 

